


Fifteen

by MathClassWarfare



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Headcanon, High School, POV Prompto Argentum, Pining, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fill, Skateboarding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22962850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathClassWarfare/pseuds/MathClassWarfare
Summary: For my darlingninemoons42'stwitter prompt:fish!
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Iris Amicitia, Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61
Collections: FFXV Creators' Haven





	Fifteen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninemoons42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninemoons42/gifts).



The only way Prompto can get a good angle is to lie flat on his stomach, halfway-underneath an outdoor cafe table. He points his camera up to capture Noctis grinding towards him along the edge of the stone bench. He nearly makes it to the end this time, before he has to bail—board clattering to the pavement.

“Dude, that was _sick_!” Prompto cheers, reviewing the footage. “You almost had it!”

“Yeah, almost.” Noctis pushes to his starting position again, but doesn’t skate. He squints in the direction of the aquarium at the edge of the plaza.

Prompto sits up and turns to look where Noctis is looking, and he sees Gladio talking with a security guard. At Gladio's signal to cut it short, they let out dejected sighs in stereo. 

“Man, what good is being the prince if you don’t even get to skate where you want?” Prompto asks, hopping to his feet.

“It’s no good—I keep telling you.” 

As they walk, a shifty little smile crosses Noctis’s face.

“What?” Prompto demands.

“Nothing,” Noctis lies, glancing at Prompto’s board.

Prompto looks down and immediately spots his mistake. _Mall grab. Fuck._ He flips the board so he’s holding it by the long edge instead of the trucks. Noctis laughs. 

“Shut up,” Prompto mutters. He can feel his face heating up.

“I didn’t say anything!” Noctis laughs even harder, and Prompto can’t help but join him.

Gladio waits for them near the entrance with his little sister, who’s marching in circles around him chanting: “Starfish! Starfish! Starfish!” When Noctis and Prompto get close, she shouts, “Noct!”

Noctis smiles. “Hey Iris.”

“Iris, remember Noct’s friend, Prompto?” Gladio rests a hand on her shoulder.

“Hello!” She beams, showing off a missing tooth.

Prompto gives her his sunniest grin in return. “Hiya Iris!”

“All right,” Gladio says. “Should we go in?” 

They don’t have to wait in the regular line—because, _royalty_ —and soon find themselves next to the enormous whale skeleton. Signs point them to different exhibits in every direction. 

Gladio looks around. “Well, I think this one wants to check out the tide pools—”

“Starfish!” Iris interjects. 

“Right! Hold your chocobos, _geez_. Can’t take you anywhere.” Gladio gently shakes her by the shoulders, and she makes a goofy face.

Noctis says, “Last time we didn’t make it to the deep sea stuff, so I kinda wanted to go over there.” 

“How much time do we have?” Prompto asks, scanning his ticket stub for the hours.

“We’ve got a little more than an hour, so you guys go ahead.” Gladio catches the eye of somebody in the crowd—probably some undercover officer—and scratches at the back of his ear. “We’ve got a few more people on duty. I might’ve said we were thinkin’ about coming today.” 

While he talks, Iris hangs on one of Gladio’s arms, trying with all her might to pull him in the opposite direction. “Okay, maniac.” He says finally, turning to look down at her. “Let’s go see the starfish.”

“Have fun!” Prompto waves as he and Noctis walk the other way, following the signs for ‘The Cygillian Ocean.’ 

They don’t look back to see whoever’s following them. It still feels awkward and sort of rude to ignore the undercover Crownsguard that shadow Noctis wherever he goes, but Prompto’s starting to get used it. He’d happily put up with way worse, if it meant he got to keep hanging out with his new best friend. 

They step into a dark corridor, surrounded on both sides by glass tanks. Prompto falls behind, turning off the flash on his camera—photos are allowed, as long as they don’t disturb the animals. He gets some shots of neon blue and yellow fish swimming through cotton candy colored coral, then heads into the next room, labeled ‘The Open Ocean.’

 _“Whoa,”_ he whispers to himself, taking in the sight of the two-story tank at the back of this cavernous space. He gets a shot of the people gathered there—dark silhouettes against greenish-blue water—before meeting Noctis at the front of the crowd.

“It’s cool, right?” Noctis grins at him. “Look—” he points up at a huge school of tiny silver fish, swirling together near the top of the tank. In perfect, graceful unison, they change directions again and again. Prompto takes a flurry of shots, following them down through the tank until he finds his camera pointed at Noctis. The look of pure, unselfconscious wonder on his best friend’s face is probably the most beautiful fucking thing he’s going to see today—or maybe ever. 

Prompto holds his breath and clicks the shutter. 

Then Noctis turns and grabs his shoulder to pull him along to the next room. “C’mon.” he says, “Let’s go see the _really_ weird stuff before they close.”

“Yeah,” Prompto finally exhales. “You got it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Update: Check out this [beautiful art](https://twitter.com/Err_417/status/1237030807908335617?s=20) by [Err](https://twitter.com/Err_417)! It makes me so, so happy that my little fic inspired this gorgeousness!


End file.
